1.Russia's military is using specially trained dolphins to defend a critical naval base off Crimea, according to an analysis published by U.S. Naval Institute News.
根据美国海军研究所新闻发布的分析，俄罗斯军方正在使用经过特殊训练的海豚来保卫克里米亚附近的一个重要海军基地。
2.Submarine analyst H I Sutton wrote this week for the online news and analysis outlet — which is editorially independent from the nonprofit USNI — that satellite imagery from Maxar Technologies shows two dolphin pens at the entrance to Sevastopol's harbor, the Russian navy's "most significant" naval base in the Black Sea.
潜艇分析师H·I·萨顿(H I Sutton)本周为在线新闻和分析网站(其编辑独立于非营利组织USNI)写道，马克萨技术公司的卫星图像显示，塞瓦斯托波尔港入口处有两个海豚围栏，塞瓦斯托波尔港是俄罗斯海军在黑海“最重要”的海军基地。
3.He said the pens were moved there in February, around the time that Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
他说，这些围栏是在2月份被转移到那里的，大约是在俄罗斯全面入侵乌克兰的时候。
4.The Maxar News Bureau confirmed to us that it agrees with that analysis.
马克萨新闻社向我们证实，它同意这一分析。
5.The firm also provided new satellite images, taken on Friday and showing a closer view of dolphin pens in the water at the entrance to the bay.
该公司还提供了周五拍摄的新卫星图像，显示了海湾入口处水中海豚围栏的近距离视图。
6.Andrew Lambert, a professor of naval history at King's College London, told us that he isn't surprised by the use of defense dolphins in the conflict, since they were in Sevastopol's harbor "long before it started."
伦敦大学国王学院的海军历史教授安德鲁·兰伯特告诉我们，他对在冲突中使用防御海豚并不感到惊讶，因为它们“在战争开始前很久”就已经位于塞瓦斯托波尔的港口了。
7.Indeed, the Soviet navy ran several marine-mammal programs during the Cold War, including training dolphins near Sevastopol.
事实上，苏联海军在冷战期间就开展了几个海洋哺乳动物项目，包括在塞瓦斯托波尔附近训练海豚。
8.That particular unit transitioned to the Ukrainian military when the Soviet Union collapsed, Sutton explained, but "barely stayed open," despite attempts to remain operational.
萨顿解释说，当苏联解体时，这个特殊的单位被转移到乌克兰军方，但“几乎没有开放”，尽管他们曾试图维持运营。
9.Russia took control of the unit after it annexed Crimea in 2014, and it expanded the program once again.
俄罗斯在2014年吞并克里米亚后控制了该部门，并再次扩大了该计划。
9."The Ukrainian work that pre-dated the seizure of Crimea was a continuation of existing programmes, and we know the Russians seem to be using other marine mammals, including belugas in the Arctic," Lambert added in an email.
兰伯特在一封电子邮件中补充道:“乌克兰在克里米亚被占领之前的工作是现有计划的延续，我们知道俄罗斯人似乎在利用其他海洋哺乳动物，包括北极的白鲸。”
10.And Russia isn't the only country to do this kind of work with marine mammals.
俄罗斯并不是唯一一个对海洋哺乳动物进行此类研究的国家。
11.In fact, the U.S. Navy has a history of similar programs, and it trains dolphins as well as seals for similar purposes to this day.
事实上，美国海军有类似项目的历史，直到今天，它还出于类似的目的在训练海豚和海豹。
12.Here's a look at why dolphins make good defenders and which countries rely on them.
下面我们来看看为什么海豚是很好的防守者，以及哪些国家依赖它们。
13.Many kinds of animals have been key assets in war, Lambert says, but dolphins are especially well suited to their underwater duties because they are "fast, agile and brilliantly adapted to hunting and killing underwater."
兰伯特说，许多种类的动物是战争中的关键资产，但海豚尤其适合水下任务，因为它们“快速、敏捷，非常适应水下狩猎和杀戮。”
14."Dolphins would be ideal for killing human divers ... fast, clever, and powerful," he added via email.
“海豚是杀死人类潜水员的理想选择...快速、聪明、又强力，”他通过电子邮件补充道。
15."There is no evidence that they have done this or are trained to do so, but it is probable. Any diver in the harbour at night would be a target."
“没有证据表明他们这样做过或者受过这样的训练，但这是可能的。任何晚上在海港潜水的人都会成为目标。”
16.According to Sutton, the dolphins in the Black Sea could be tasked with counter-diver operations, with the aim of preventing Ukrainian special operations forces from infiltrating the harbor underwater and sabotaging the high-value Russian warships there.
根据萨顿的说法，黑海的海豚可以执行反潜水员行动的任务，目的是防止乌克兰特种作战部队渗透到水下港口，破坏那里的高价值俄罗斯军舰。
17.Dolphins can also use echolocation — also called sonar — to detect underwater mines.
海豚也可以使用回声定位——也称为声纳——来探测水下鱼雷。
18.Sam LaGrone, an editor of USNI News, told PRX's The World that dolphins can detect things that electronic and mechanical systems are unable to find.
USNI新闻的编辑萨姆·拉格罗内告诉PRX旗下的《世界》杂志，海豚可以探测到电子和机械系统无法探测到的东西。
19.They're also less likely to accidentally set off those mines, he added, because they're nimble in the water and, unlike ships, don't carry a "magnetic signature" that could detonate one.
他补充说，它们也不太可能意外引爆这些地雷，因为它们在水中很灵活，不像船只，没有可能引爆地雷的“磁信号”。
20.He also noted that they can swim faster than people and are also more trainable, since they can dive down and back up to the water's surface quickly without having to deal with decompression sickness as a human diver would.
他还指出，它们可以比人游得更快，也更容易训练，因为它们可以潜水并迅速回到水面，而不必像人类潜水员那样应对减压病。
21.And dolphins make excellent patrol animals, he said, calling them "kind of like the guard dogs of the sea." Lambert made a similar comparison, noting powerful dogs are used for security on land.
他说，海豚是优秀的巡逻动物，称它们“有点像海里的看门狗”兰伯特做了一个类比，借用强大的狗被用于陆地上的安全的例子。
22.Still, putting dolphins not only in captivity but on the potential front lines of a conflict raises a slew of ethical questions.
然而，把海豚不仅关在笼子里，而且放在潜在的冲突前线引发了一系列伦理问题。
23.Activists have long called on the U.S. to end its dolphin program, saying it's cruel and outmoded.
活动人士长期以来一直呼吁美国终止海豚项目，称其残忍而且过时了。
24.Dolphins and other marine mammals have been trained to do this work for decades — even as technology has improved.
几十年来，海豚和其他海洋哺乳动物一直被训练来做这项工作——即使技术已经进步。
25.So why hasn't that changed?
那么情形为什么没有改变呢？
